After I had muscle spasms, I immediately stopped taking the Abilify under the advice of my doctor.

It's been a year since the muscle spasms started and they haven't gone away. Even in non-anxious moments, I still have muscle spasms when I am at rest all over my body, but especially in the legs(particularly the thighs).

The muscle spasms first started on my right bicep then it suddenly has moved on to all over my body over time, but they are merely annoying because I feel no pain and the spasms aren't disabling or bad at all to the point that I suffer. My body does not twist or contort, the only symptoms I have are minor-medium muscle spasms all over my body although the spasms aren't continuous or prolonged, they are random and happen every 20 seconds in random body parts.

The only problem I have is that I am worried that this could be a serious neurological disorder that will progress over time because it started 2 weeks after taking abilify and it has not ceased at all a year later. My doctor told me last year that the muscle spasms that I have are only temporary but they have stayed with me a year later.

I am worried that I have Dystonia, particularly Generalized Dystonia(primarily muscle spasms all over the body which then cause the twisting of the body, although I only have muscle spasms), rather than Tardive Dyskinesia(large involuntary movements).

My question is whether I have "Dystonia" or "Dyskinesia", or maybe "Benign Fasciculation Syndrome" which I believe I have but I can't seem to point out a cause for it because it isn't known that Abilify causes "Benign Fasciculation Syndrome", only "Dystonia" or "Dyskinesia".

Is it possible for me to have Dystonia or Dyskinesia? I believe I have Generalized Dystonia but without the twisting because I have muscle spasms all over my body which may have been caused by an Antipsychotic. Is it possible for my symptoms to worsen to the point that I become disabled or will it not progress anymore?

I'm getting a check-up with a neurologist but I cannot until next month.

Does anybody else have muscle spasms from taking Abilify, Lexapro, or any other antipsychotic? Your insights would be great.

Added 29 Apr 2014:

I have been off Paxil or any medication for 3 months and I still have muscle spasms.

Responses (4)

I too took abilify for about 2 weeks, however in my case I had tremors almost immediately. I was also on Effexor XR at the time. It was while I was at a psychiatric facility. In my case they suspected Bipolar disorder and started the medicine, then the first red flag was that they also prescribed a benadryl "to help counteract any side-effects". Like I said the tremors started within the first couple days so I told the doctor but they didn't listen for whatever reason. I was there for 2 weeks and I remember the day I left I was happy to go home so I got excited and that's when it went from tremors to my arms tenseing up against my chest where I couldn't move them. The doctor finally said stop the Abilify "immediatly" (which he ignored while I was there). It slowly stopped and seemed to get better.

However recently(8 years later), I've started noticing when I use utensils like scissors or something like them while cooking I have started getting tremors again. Thankfully they only last about 15 mins after I stop using the scissors but it still makes me wonder if it is related to the Abilify or not. I think I too will be looking into seeing a neurologist.

I'm not sure if I helped you any or not but maybe by sharing our stories we can find something out or help someone else understand something.

I took latuda 40mg and had muscle spasms all over so painful that lasted for fifteen minutes. My doctor put me on cogentin then it wasn't strong enough h put me on amantadine 4 tablets 100 mg each. This helped. I think it helped with tremors in my leg like legs shaking. Ask your doctor about these. For any muscle spasm take Benadryl at high doses immediately to sleep it off. I take three tablets. I hope that helped. Also you might have liver problems. Get some blood work done if you need meds cause muscle or side pains.

My fiancé took SSRIs a few years ago and was diagnosed with Dystonia. The pain was really bad, but the one thing that helped a lot were Botox injections. They helped immensely but would stop working within a month. You can only get Botox shots every 2 months. He also took meds. He would be crying in pain and when he received Botox injections he would be normal. No spasms (especially around his mouth) and no pain. Also, exercises, yoga... can help immensely. Look for a neurologist that A) Deals with Dystonia B) Make sure that said neurologist does Botox injections. Post-Katrina N.O. wasn't the easiest place to find this. but, we did it. He was getting better pain-wise but, the Dystonia showed no signs of abating. Hope that this answer helps you.

Hi lonewanderer,I have the same problems.I took Zyprexa 10 mg for 21 days for a misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder.After 2 weeks without Zyprexa I often started to have fasciculation in my left thigh. Now, 5 months after, I have fasciculations throughout the body.What do you think you have? How are you after more than 4 years?I am very worried because I read that movement disorders caused by antipsychotics are linked to cognitive deficit.Did you notice any cognitive impairment?Greetings from Italy, Nicholas.